


I'm happy if you're happy

by Wiccan507



Category: Star Trek (2009) Universe, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Brief Drunk Jim, First Kiss, Grumpy Leonard, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentions of Jaylah, Misunderstandings, Star Trek Beyond, Supportive Crew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 09:30:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7612837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wiccan507/pseuds/Wiccan507
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard McCoy just needed the advice of his best friend. Of course, nothing ever does run smooth for him and now Spock thinks he likes Jim, but he really loves Spock. Too bad, Spock is in love with someone else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm happy if you're happy

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this today because I just suddenly love Spones and had to write something for it! I hope you all enjoy it :)

Leonard had been pacing back and forth in his room for about fifteen minutes. He’d asked Jim to meet him once his shift finished to talk about something. It wasn’t anything super important just his out of the blue feelings for a certain Vulcan. Looking at the clock, Leonard knew that Jim finished his shift ten minutes ago, which meant that he’d probably stopped to flirt with someone on the way. It was unlikely someone had stopped him for work. Usually people just walked and talked work with him, but when Jim was going to flirt he would stop and focus.

A beep sounded through the room, and he practically fell over himself to answer the door.

“I brought whisky.”

“Why? I’m not complaining, but why?”

“You never want to talk feelings, so I guessed this was gonna be important.”

“Well, thanks. I’ll get some glasses.” Jim stepped into the room and made himself comfortable on the couch while Leonard rooted around for some glasses. He found two at the back of one of his cupboards and handed one over to his best friend.

“So, what’s going on, Bones?” Jim tipped his head up to look at him as he poured the liquid into each glass.

“I, erm, well- give me some of that first.” The amber liquid burned the back of his throat, and he let it slide down until there was nothing left in his glass.

“Feel better?”

“Much.”

“So, what’s up?”

“There’s a- I’m- feelings.” The admission could have been smoother, but he wasn’t exactly used to everything he was feeling for Spock.

“You like someone.”

“Yes.” Jim was quiet as he poured himself another drink and he sat back in his chair with a smirk gracing his lips.

“Let me guess, the gruff southern charm ain’t working, and you need help to seduce them. Well, you’ve come to the right place.” Leonard forced himself not to laugh at that, and he poured himself a small drink. It didn’t actually feel like drinking anything, but it gave him something to focus on.

“Jim, you are the last person I would ask for seduction tips. I just need to talk to someone.” His best friend shot forward in his seat, and Leonard was surprised the man didn’t give himself whiplash. The smirk had dropped from his lips, and his face had become more serious than he’d ever seen it.

“I will have you know that I am a fantastic seducer.” He dragged a hand down his face and dropped it onto the table.

“This isn’t about your seducing.”

“It is now! I could seduce anyone! I could seduce you.” Leonard knew that he couldn’t, his friend had gotten very drunk in their first year and tried to hit on him. It hadn’t helped that Jim hadn’t actually realised it was him he was hitting on.

“Sure you could, kid.”

“Bones.”

“James.”

“Leonard.”

“Jim, I watched you sleep with half of the academy. I know you can seduce people. Now, can we please get back to my issue.” That should placate him for a while.

“Fine. Who is it?”

“A person.”

“So, it’s a guy.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Exactly.”

“Yes, it’s a guy.” Jim looked ridiculously smug at having gotten it correct.

“What level of like we talking here?” It sounded like a childish question, but he knew what Jim was asking him. It was a code they’d established while they’d roomed together. Usually it was just Jim messaging him something under a five. Anything under a five told him how long he had to stay out of their room, and above that usually meant Jim felt something more serious for someone. Jim never sent over a five.

“A five.”

“So, it’s higher than a five!”

“What?”

“Oh come on, Bones. Remember that girl you liked in the second year, you kept telling me it was a five, but then I was the one that had to come get your drunken ass after you confessed your feelings to her by screaming at her window.” Unfortunately, he did remember that just when he thought he’d forgotten about it the memory would creep back up on him. It did nothing but make him cringe.

“I wasn’t _that_ drunk.”

“Bones, it was the wrong window. She lived on the other side of the building.” There was more liquid being poured into Jim’s glass and the man’s cheeks were getting more flushed as he went on.

“Okay, it’s not a five. It’s like a seven.” Jim choked on his drink, and Leonard raised his eyebrow at his friend.

“You love the guy, seriously?”

“This was obviously a bad idea, you can go.” He made to get up from his seat, but fingers were curling around his wrist to keep him in his seat.

“Bones, no, come on. I want to know, I’m just shocked. You’ve sworn up and down that you’ll never love anyone again, brings too much heartbreak and something about horses or cows.”

“You don’t keep flogging a dead horse.”

“Exactly. So, this guy must be pretty special.”

“He’s something.”

“Is it Sulu? You know he’s married.”

“No.”

“Chekov? Little young for you, but it could work.”

“No, and stop guessing ya idiot.”

“Scotty?” More alcohol filled the glass, and he reckoned that he could probably just keep talking, and Jim would eventually pass out from the intoxication. On the other hand, he had invited his best friend here for a reason, and that was to get this off his chest.

“Isn’t he with Jaylah?”

“He is? Good for them! She’ll be a great addition to the crew once she’s finished at Starfleet.” The drink sloshed over the side of the glass as Jim toasted the air to their friends.

“She will be. So, I think I’m gonna hit the hay.” He was already up and out of his seat before Jim realised what he was doing and dragged him back down.

“Oh no, you don’t. Don’t try and distract me with other stuff, Bones, you wanted to talk about this. I am here to talk.” Jim slapped his hand against his own thigh and stared at him.

“I don’t know why I like him, okay. I just realised it today, and it’s distracting me a little.”

“Do you think he likes you back?”

“Unlikely.”

“Do you know for sure?”

“No.”

“Then ask him.”

“Not gonna ask him.”

“Bones, if you really like this guy then the only way you’re gonna know for sure he likes you is to tell him. Or, ask him how he feels. If he says no, then you can move on and if he says yes then you can start something.”

“That- That actually makes sense.”

“I’m the Captain for a reason.”

“Good God.”

“So, who is it?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“What? After my fantastic advice!”

“You’ll laugh.”

“What are we kids? I’m the Captain, and you’re the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise, I am not going to laugh at you because you have a crush.”

“It’s Spock.”

“Spock. Well- Tha’s- Wow.” The man was pushing his lips together so tightly they had become a tight white line on his face, and the strain to hold himself together was clear.

“You look like you’re going to have an aneurysm.”

“I’m fine.”

“Just let it out, Jim.” With the permission out of his mouth, Jim laughed with his whole body and luckily his glass was empty otherwise it would have spilt all over the floor as it swayed in his hand.

“I’m sorry! It’s just you and Spock. That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut the hell up would ya.”

“No, I am serious. I can totally see it now. The grumpy and the logical, it’s like a rom-com. One of those really cheesy ones where the grumpy doctor tries all these different plans to get the logical one to notice them, except it, gets thwarted every time.”

“Thwarted?”

“Every. Single. Time.” Jim suddenly looked very serious as he dropped his hand down on his knee tree times to emphasise every word.

“So, should I just give up now then?”

“No! We need to come up with a plan!” His best friend tried to pour more alcohol into his drink and nearly fell off the couch as he grabbed the bottle of the floor.

“I think you’ve had too much of this.”

“My two best friends, I can be both of your best men!” Jim dropped his empty glass to the floor and just brought the bottle to his lips as he thought about his two best friends getting together.

“Jim, I need to find out how he feels first. Then we’ll talk about marriage.”

“You guys would be so bossy.”

“You’re drunk.” His friend's eyes suddenly went very wide, and he was grabbing Leonard by the arms.

“No, no, Bones- no, you can’t be with Spock. You’ll gang up on me.”

“We won’t gang up on you.”

“You’re going to. He’ll be sucking your dick, of course, you’re gonna pick him!” Leonard’s not gonna lie, the thought of Spock sucking his dick momentarily distracted him from the problem at hand. That was until Jim's face planted into his shoulder.

“Jim, you’re my best friend. I’m gonna side with you, now let’s get you into bed.” He tried to lift the man up, but Jim was working against him and seemed to get even heavier.

“Nooo, you’re in love with Spock. Not getting into bed with you.”

“Oh, good god man, I’m not trying to sleep with you. I’m trying to get you to go to sleep so I won’t have to give you anything in the morning.”

“You’re the best, Bo-” Leonard grunted as Jim drifted off against his shoulder and he dragged the man over to his bed before dropping him on it. His best friend shuffled around and until his hand hit a pillow and he dragged it towards himself. The man starfished out across his bed, and Bones settled on his couch with the knowledge that the man wasn’t going to let him sleep on the bed.

            The next morning Leonard woke up with a stiff back, and he was seriously getting too old to be sleeping on a couch. Jim had curled up into the foetal position in his sleep, the pillow was pulled in tight against his chest, and he was drooling onto Leonards quilt. He forced himself up and pushed at Jim’s feet to wake him up. When the man didn’t even so much as grunt, he put both hands on his body and pushed him up and down till he woke up.

“Why?”

“To wake you up.”

“Stupid way.”

“You’re awake aren’t you?”

“Think I’m gonna be sick.” Jim pushed himself up off the bed and stumbled over to the bathroom to curl around the toilet. Leonard poured the man a glass of water and left it beside his friend’s knee. He stared at himself in the mirror and even though he hadn’t drunk as much as Jim he looked like crap. There were bags under his eyes, his was sticking to his forward, and he was slightly hunched over from the pain in his back.

“You can take a shower if you need to. We have about half an hour before our shifts start.”

“Thanks.” Jim pushed himself away from the toilet and dragged his shirts off before steadying himself against the wall.

“I’m the Doctor of this ship, Jim; I can call you in for a sick day.”

“Once I have a shower I’ll be fine.” He shook his head at his friend but turned his eyes back to his own reflection. The shower turned on behind him, and he pulled out his toothbrush and washcloth to start his morning routine hoping it would allow him to feel more human.

            He was pulling up a fresh pair of pants when there was a knock at his door, he was still shirtless, but he doubted it would be anyone other than his immediate friends. No one else dared bother him this early. The door slid open, and he came face to face with Spock.

“Spock, is everything alright?”

“Yes, I was wondering if you had seen the Capt-” Spock cut himself off as Jim stepped out of the bathroom, a towel tied around his waist and another one being rubbed into his hair.

“Thanks, Bones, I really needed that-”

“Jim.”

“And I’m sorry about last night, didn’t mean to take up all of the bed.”

“Jim!” The towel was pulled off his friends head, and his eyes went wide as he realised Spock was now also in the room.

“Erm,…it’s not what it looks like?” If Leonard weren't a grown man, he would have literally face-palmed.

“Oh, good God, man.”

“I see. I’m sorry to have interrupted your morning together. I shall see you on the bridge, Captain.” Spock nodded his head towards Jim and left the room without ever looking at Leonard again. As soon as the door closed, he rounded on Jim, and the man had the decency to look apologetic.

“In my defence, I didn’t know he was there.”

“You did when you said it’s not what it looks like! That is code for it is exactly what you think it is.”

“Maybe, Spock thinks that what I said was the truth, and it wasn’t what it looked or sounded like.”

“Yeah, Spock the most logical thinker in the world, would look at you walking out of my shower in just a towel, me shirtless and you talking about taking up all the space in my bed and think yep just two guys drinking last night.” Jim suddenly looked very excited, and that gleam in his eye could only mean very bad things for him.

“Well, guess you better tell him you like him soon.”

“Are…Are you kidding me?”

“Bones, you have to tell him. He likes you back.” Clearly, the whisky was still affecting him.

“Where in the hell are you getting that?”

“Body language.”

“From Spock! Are you still drunk?”

“I’m serious, he wouldn’t even look at you. Jealousy.” The man looked far too proud of himself for his assessment.

“Get out of my room.”

“I’m telling you, Bones, he is jealous.”

“I don’t think Spock does jealous.”

“He does, and he is.” With that, Jim grabbed some of Leonard’s clothes out of the closet and slipped them on.

“You can keep those boxers.” Jim beamed at him and then started picking his own clothes up off the floor.

            It wasn’t until a few hours later that he saw Spock, he was working through the reports on his desk when the man knocked on his open door.

“Doctor, may I come in?”

“Sure, Spock.” He waved towards the seat in front of his desk and Spock nodded and moved into it. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, I simply have some reports I needed to discuss with you.”

“Oh.” There was a small part of him that had hoped Spock had wanted to ask about him and Jim and whether there was something going on with them.

“Are you alright, Doctor?”

“Fine, so which reports are these?”

“They are merely from the last incident, I have added my assessment of the events, and I thought you would want to evaluate what I’ve written and then sign off on them if all is adequate.”

“Do you need them back immediately?”

“No, tomorrow should suffice.”

“Okay.” Spock pushed out of his chair, and McCoy groaned quietly before forcing himself to speak. “Spock?”

“Yes?”

“What you saw this morning with Jim, it really wasn’t what it looked like.”

“Your relationship with the Captain is not of my concern, Doctor.”

“No I know, but we’re just friends. He’s my oldest friend and he came over for a drink last night and he drank too much.”

“Was something troubling the Captain?”

“No, nothing like that, erm, my thing. It was my thing. I have an issue, but Jim didn’t prove to be very helpful.”

“I see. Would it help to talk about it? We could discuss your problem.” Aw hell, why not? Maybe the hobgoblin could give him some pointers on how to ask him out.

“Sure.” Spock moved back into the chair, and McCoy rested his arms on top of the desk before looking at Spock. His mouth opened and closed uselessly as he tried to think of something to say.

“Doctor-”

“Please, Spock, Leonard would be fine.”

“Alright, Leonard, for us to discuss your predicament, you would have to tell me what it is.”

“I like someone. On the ship.”

“I see. Are you aware if they like you back?”

“I am not, and I’m not sure how to ask them.”

“I believe just asking them would suffice.”

“And if they don’t return my feelings, what then?”

“Then I believe the best thing to do would accept that and move on.” Spock looked sad, well as sad as Spock would let himself look when there were other people around.

“You sound like you’ve been in this situation before.”

“Very recently, it seems.” McCoy refused to think about the way his heart dropped into his stomach at Spock’s words. The man was in love with someone and whoever it was was an absolute moron for rejecting him.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It is alright. They have affections for someone else, and I would not stand in the way of that. I apologise I must get back to my duties.” As Spock stood up for his chair, he thought that Spock might be ready to move on, and McCoy can suggest a date. Spock turned to the door, and he let the words fall out of his mouth.

“How easy was it to move on?” The man didn’t turn around, simply turned his head to look over his shoulder and gave him a sad smile.

“I’ll let you know when I have.”

            Leonard had been racking his brain all day trying to figure out who had hurt Spock. It probably wasn’t a good idea to find them since he didn’t know exactly what he was going to say to them, but it was probably going to be fuelled by anger. There was a slight chance he was overreacting, and he should take a few minutes to be calm, but dammit Spock deserved to be happy. The problem was he had no idea where he was supposed to start.

“Doctor McCoy!” He stopped in his stomping and turned to speak to Uhura. “I was wo- is everything alright?”

“What? Why?”

“You just look very flushed and angry.”

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be fine? What, because Spock is in love with someone and they rejected him. Somebody on this god forsaken ship rejected Spock, why wouldn’t I be fine when my life might be in the hands of a moron. Are you laughing at me?”

“I’m sorry, this is just the best day.” Leonard didn’t have to deal with being laughed at so he turned on his heel and started walking down the hall.

“Doctor McCoy?”

“What!”

“I think you’ll find that the person who rejected Spock very much has the lives of everyone on this ship in his hands.”

“It’s a man?” Uhura sighed and gave him a small smile before walking past him.

“Good day, Doctor.” Well, at least he had narrowed his search down to just half the ship.

            Having it narrowed down to half the ship wasn’t helping in the slightest. He’d ruled out most of their friends, Scotty had been very obvious in his affections for Jaylah so that couldn’t be a recent rejection. He knew Jim and Spock loved each other, but he didn’t think it was romantic for either of them. Sulu had been married for years so it couldn’t be him. He supposed it could be Chekov, but the younger man seemed to always enjoy Spock’s company, and he doubted he would outright reject Spock.

“This is ridiculous. I should just ask him.”

“Talking to yourself, Bones?”

“Shut up, Jim.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Spock is in love with someone.”

“Okay.”

“And whoever the moron is, they rejected Spock, and I can’t figure out who it is.”

“What are you going to do when you figure it out?”

“I don’t know, have words with him.”

“You know it’s a guy?”

“Yeah, Uhura told me.”

“She tell you anything else.”

“That the guy had everyone’s lives in his hands. Do you know something?”

“I only know what Uhura told me.”

“What did she tell you! Who is it, Jim?”

“I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise for you.”

“Dammit, Jim, tell me.”

“I’ll give you a big clue.”

“This isn’t a game, Jim.”

“Not for you it isn’t.” Leonard wanted to wipe that smirk right off his face.

“What’s the clue?”

“If you’re going to have words with this guy, then you’re gonna need a mirror.” With that glaringly, obvious clue Jim left him alone and Leonard raced off to find Spock.

            The Vulcan was notoriously hard to find when you actually wanted him, you tried to avoid him and low and behold he’d be right there with the reports you’d yet to finish.

“Scotty!”

“Doctor, would you like to join me for a drink?”

“Not tonight, have you seen Spock?”

“Ah, finally telling him how you feel then?”

“What?”

“Well, the Captain said you were-”

“The Captain is a pain in my ass. Do you know where Spock is?”

“Aye, lad. He’s in the engine room.”

“I could kiss you, Mr Scott.”

“Save it for, Mr Spock!” He left Scotty laughing as he ran down the halls to make it to Spock before he decided he was finished in the engine room.

            The space was relatively empty when he got down there, a few people milled around the area, and he asked a small group where Spock was. They pointed him towards the further part of the engine room, and he thanked them, even though he could hear them gossiping behind his back. The Vulcan was bent over one of the consoles and he tapped away at something and Leonard moved towards him slowly.

“Spock?” A twitch of his right eyebrow was all the indication Leonard got that he’d surprised Spock.

“Doctor, what are you doing down here?”

“I thought we could talk some more. You gave me such good advice earlier.”

“I see, what else did you want to discuss?”

“Well, I thought you could tell me about the man you love.”

“You believe it to be a man?”

“Uhura let it slip. Tell me about him? I’d like to know more.” He stepped closer to Spock as he spoke and was relieved when the Vulcan made no move to step away from him.

“Very well. He is very intelligent. Will that suffice?” The amount of sass Spock could fit in one sentence had always astounded Leonard.

“Come on, Spock, you can do better than that.”

“He causes me great annoyance.”

“Really feeling your love for him, but I understand I feel the same about my guy.”

“You are in love with a man also?” The words were quiet, and Leonard guessed that Spock thought he knew who he was in love with. Well, he was gonna have to clear that up right now.

“Yep. He’s the biggest pain in my ass, after Jim of course.” The last part caused Spock to flick his eyes up to meet his and Leonard could confidently say this was him visibly rattled.

“After Jim? You-”

“-don’t like Jim. Which I did try to clear up this morning.”

“I thought you were just trying to hide your relationship. It was the most logical conclusion considering the evidence.” Leonard took a deep breath and prepared to do something he’d only ever done once before. Tell the truth and put his heart on the line.

“In that case, I think a confession trumps evidence. So, here goes I Leonard McCoy have somehow, despite knowing better, fallen in love with someone on this ship. He is by far the most illogical choice because we disagree on everything; there is not a day that goes by that we don’t argue about something. And I find him infuriating because despite that I-” His chest almost ached at how much he was about to reveal, at how much power he was about to give Spock. He swallowed down any panic he felt and pulled his shoulders back, he probably looked more like a man about to go into a fight rather than someone about to pour out their heart. “I would rather fight with you every day for the rest of my life than have you think I could love anyone else.” He hadn’t quite realised it at the time, but as he’d spoken his feet had carried him closer and closer to Spock until they were standing only a few feet apart.

“That is quite the confession. I suppose I owe you one, now.”

“No, Spock, you don’t owe me anything. Well, expect the few times I’ve saved your life, it would be great if you could return the favour every now and then.” A small smile lifted Spock’s lips, and it might just be the best thing he’s seen all day.

“Always, Doctor.”

“But you don’t owe me a confession. I just needed you to know. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

“I would like to.”

“Then, please, by all means.”

“Today, I felt the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I have never had my heart broken before, my mother spoke of it to me when I was a child, but I never quite understood it. She fully believed that it would be something I would experience, and I thought I had three years ago. When Jim died, I thought this is what my mother had explained to me, this pain and ache inside me, but I was wrong. This morning I felt that pain, the loss and I hadn’t even lost you, you were there in front of me, but I still felt it. It was as though I was feeling the loss of Vulcan, my mother, Jim and Ambassador Spock all over again. And it was all because I thought you were in love with someone. I feel that we share a similar sentiment, despite knowing that I could feel that pain again I believe I would rather feel that every day than not be with you.”

“Well, we’ve both confessed.”

“Indeed, we have.”

“I would- I’d like to kiss you.”

“I too would like to kiss you.”

“Erm, Vulcan or Human kiss?” The Doctor knew that Spock had exchanged human kisses with Uhura, but he wasn’t sure if Spock preferred a certain type of kiss.

“I would be happy to enjoy either with you, Leonard.” He moved the last few steps till they were standing in front of each other and Spock smiled down at him. In the space between them Leonard raised his hand and extended his middle and index finger for Spock and a shocked Spock quickly did the same and pressed their fingers together. The space between them was small, and it allowed Leonard to stretch up and brush their lips together in a chaste human kiss. “Both are good.”

“I like both. We should always do both.”

“I fear I do not know where to go from here.”

“Are you hungry, Spock?”

“Truthfully, no, but if it allows me to spend more time with you then yes.” Spock pulled him along by his fingers, and Leonard rushed to keep up with the man, their joined fingers between them as they walked.

“You could have just said yes, Spock.”

“Then you would have inquired as to why I wasn’t eating on our date.”

“No, I wouldn’t. I’d have just been happier that you were there.”

“An unlikely scenario, Leonard, for you are not only the ships Doctor but my friend and now my partner.”

“Dammit, Spock, do you have to apply logic to everything?” The Vulcan was infuriating sometimes.

“I am merely pointing out the obvious.”

“You know what, fine, don’t eat see if I care.”

“I believe you will.”

“Whatever.”

“It might please you to know that I am happy you care for me.”

“You? Happy? Never thought I’d live to see the day.”

“We have well-established that I feel emotion, what is troubling you?” There was nothing troubling him at all that might actually be the most troubling thing. Spock actually loved him back and wanted to be with him. For the first time in a very long time, he was actually glad to be in space. Oh, good god, Spock made him like space.

“It’s nothing, Spock.”

“Very well.” The fingers curled tighter around his own and Leonard had almost forgotten that they were still touching. A light feeling flooded his body, and he had to admit that the thought of making Spock happy did make him happy. Aw hell, he was turning into Jim when he watched a rom-com. He glanced over at Spock who seemed completely at ease with what they were doing, and he quietly let the truth fall from his lips.

“I’m happy, too.”


End file.
